The invention relates to free standing shelf assemblies having horizontal shelves attached to legs and more particularly to shelf assemblies having foldable legs that can be locked in upright positions and pivoted to folded positions adjacent the shelves.
Storage enclosures are used in a number of environments, such as schools, fitness centers, industrial, commercial, and military institutions for storage of items, as books, clothing, shoes, and sporting accessories. One form of an enclosure is a school locker comprising an upright metal cabinet having side walls extended upwardly from a horizontal floor. A shelf attached to the side walls located in the upper portion of the locker has attachments to hang clothing in the locker chamber. Additional shelves are not located in conventional lockers. Additional shelf space in a locker is useful to support items and allow shoes and boots to be placed on the locker floor and separated from other items, such as books, papers and backpacks. Additional shelves used in lockers and enclosures are disclosed in the locker shelf and rack art as described and illustrated in the following patents.
H. Kovacik in U.S. Pat. No. 3,322,077 describes a foldable table stand having a pair of upright front and rear tubular legs having holes and slots. A pair of shelves are pivotally mounted on one of each pair of legs for movement between generally horizontal positions and folded generally upright positions. Each shelf has rods with ends that fit into the holes and slots to pivotally mount the shelves and retain the shelves in generally horizontal positions.
T. A. Burton in U.S. Pat. No. 4,283,099 discloses a cabinet that can be installed within the inside space of a locker. The cabinet is a kit having side panels and horizontal shelf panels extend between and mounted on the side panels. Opposite ends of the shelves have downwardly extended flanges that hook on brackets attached to the side panels to mount the shelves on the side panels. A drawer is slidable located between adjacent shelf panels. The cabinet is retained within the locker by the shelf panels attached to the side panels. The cabinet has a width greater than the width of the locker door opening whereby the cabinet must be taken apart to remove it from the locker.
R. R. Peterson in U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,146 discloses a laterally adjustable shelf assembly adapted to fit in a locker. The shelf assembly has a pair of shelves attached to four upright legs which support the shelves in the locker. Each shelf has first and second shelf members with cooperating guides that allow lateral expansion of the shelf to fit in different size lockers. A nut and bolt hold the shelf members in their laterally adjusted positions. The legs have vertical slots that accommodate male connectors to connect the legs to corner portions of the shelves and retain the legs in upright positions to support the shelves above the floor of the locker.
L. E. Remmers in U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,223 describes a free standing stacking shelf having a support defined by longitudinal extending rods and cross bars secured to a wire rectangular frame. A pair of stacking elements are pivotally mounted on pivot bars secured to corner portions of the frame. The legs of the stacking elements are biased outwardly into locking engagement with a locking rod to retain the stacking elements in generally vertical positions or normal to the horizontal plane of the supports. The legs are forced inwardly to release them from the locking rods whereby the stacking elements can be pivoted to folded positions adjacent the supports.
D. G. Santucci in U.S. Pat. No. 5,137,160 discloses a shelf for a locker having hinged first and second shelf members. Releasable latches lock the shelf members in fixed planar orientation with opposite ends of the shelf in engagement with the locker walls. Legs and supports are not used to retain the shelf in the locker.
M. E. Massouda, M. Snider, and D. L. Schwartz in U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,407 discloses a wire stackable and nestable rack having a support with crossed wires connected to a perimeter wire and side frames with leg members secured by welds to the perimeter wire. The side frames have bottom members that hook into top sections of side frames of a second rack stacked on a first rack. The side frames do not fold to positions adjacent the support.
G. E. McNamara and C. N. Hansen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,646 disclosed a legless locker shelf assembly having a pair of shelf members and an actuator cam operable to expand the shelf members into tight engagement with the side walls of the locker. The cam is rotatably mounted on one of the shelf members and engages teeth on the other shelf member to move the shelf members in opposite directions and hold the shelf members in their expanded positions. Legs are not used to support the shelf assembly in the locker.
R. M. Kurtis in U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,331 discloses a collapsible stand having legs and shelves for use with a school locker. The stand has a pair of flat rectangular shelves having corners. Upright linear legs pivotally connected to the corners of the legs allow the shelves to be moved from horizontal positions to folded upright positions. A stop bar secured to the lower shelf abuts against the front legs to retain the shelves in the horizontal positions.
F. Bingley discloses British Pat. No. 178,984, a shelf unit having horizontal shelves attached to upright end members. Vertically spaced key-hole shaped slots in the end members accommodate hook shaped or T-shaped extensions to connect the shelves to the end members.
The invention is a new and efficient shelf assembly that is useable in lockers to maximize locker space and provides a convenience and versatility shelf for holding objects. The shelf assembly is a plastic coated wire shelf hinged to U-shaped leg supports that can be folded adjacent the bottom of the shelf. The folded shelf assembly can be rotated to fit through a locker door. Once inside the locker, the leg supports are unfolded away from the shelf to horizontally support the shelf above the floor of the locker. The leg supports have legs with upper ends that fit in leg locking connectors secured to the corners of the shelf to lock the legs in place generally normal to the horizontal plane of the shelf. The legs can be spread apart to release the legs from the leg locking connectors so the leg supports can be moved to the folded position adjacent the bottom of the shelf. The shelf assembly has a tight fit inside a standard size locker. The plastic coated wire and metal frame of the shelf assembly prevents rusting and scratching. Two or more shelf assemblies can be stacked inside the locker.
The shelf assembly has a platform or shelf comprising a peripheral frame having side and end members. A wire grid of crossed wire members are secured to the side and end members of the frame. The frame and wire members are coated with a plastic material, such as polyethylene, to inhibit rust of the metal wires and frame. The plastic material also prevents scratching and marring of the floor and side walls of a locker or cabinet containing the shelf assembly. The shelf is retained in a generally horizontal position in the locker with a pair of U-shaped leg supports. Connectors secured to the corners of the shelf pivotally accommodate the leg supports and releasably retain the leg supports in upright positions or positions normal to the horizontal plane of the shelf. Each U-shaped leg support has a horizontal base and upright legs joined to the opposite ends of the base. The upper ends of the legs have inwardly directed projections or short cylindrical members. The base, legs and projections are coated with a plastic material. The U-shaped leg support is a U-shaped spring that biases the legs inwardly into cooperative engagement with the connectors to retain the U-shaped leg support in a shelf supporting position. Each connector has a downwardly directed member having a hole for accommodating the projection of a leg and flanges engageable with a portion of the legs to retain the leg in a position generally normal to the shelf. The leg can be moved outwardly away from the connector and flanges whereby the U-shaped leg support can be pivoted to a folded position adjacent the shelf.
The preferred embodiment of the shelf assembly has a generally rectangular frame comprising a continuous upright band secured to longitudinal and transverse linear wire members. The wire members are arranged in a Cartesian pattern or crossed grid. Intersecting portions of the wire members are secured by welds. The entire frame is covered with a protective coat or layer of plastic materials, such as polyethylene, to inhibit rust and scratching of a locker or other surfaces that may be engaged by the frame. The wire members are secured in a cartesian plane to the bottom edges band whereby the frame has end and side barriers that prevent objects from moving off the shelf. The band is a generally flat metal member that longitudinally and laterally strengthens the shelf. A pair of U-shaped leg supports retain the shelf in a generally horizontal position on a support, such as the floor of a locker. Each leg support is a U-shaped spring having a continuous metal wire or rod with a horizontal base joined to upright legs. The upper ends of the legs have inwardly directed projections or cylindrical members. The entire wire is covered with a coat or layer of plastic material to inhibit rust and damage to the wire and surfaces adjacent to the frame. When the U-shaped leg support is at its at-rest position, the legs are inclined upwardly and inwardly toward each other. Bending the legs to vertical positions causes the legs to have an inwardly directed biasing force. The legs are operatively associated with connectors secured to corner portions of the frame. Each connector has a horizontal portion secured to the wire of the frame and a downwardly directed portion for accommodating a portion of a leg. The downwardly direct portion has outwardly directed upright flanges providing an upright pocket between the flanges. A hole located above the pocket accommodates a projection to pivotally mount the leg on the connector. The connector is a one-piece metal member covered with a coating of plastic material. The connectors retain the legs in vertical positions whereby the biasing action of the legs retain the legs in the pockets between the flanges thereby preventing rotation of the leg supports relative to the connectors. The legs must be laterally moved away from the connectors against the biasing of the legs to move the legs out of the pockets whereby the leg supports can be pivoted to a folded position adjacent the bottom of the shelf.